summarize-session

name	summarize-session
description	Capture a structured session work journal — what was built, decisions made, current state, and next steps. Writes to project memory for future session context.

Summarize Session Skill

Captures the narrative of a development session as a persistent work journal. Distinct from auto-memory (which records stable patterns/conventions) — this records what happened, what was decided, and what to pick up next.

When to Use

• End of a development session before closing the conversation
• After completing a significant chunk of work
• Manual invocation with /summarize-session

Behavior

• Non-interactive: Scans context, writes file, prints summary — no prompts
• Persistent: Writes to project memory so future sessions have context
• Additive: Appends if a summary for today already exists

Instructions

CRITICAL — NON-INTERACTIVE: Run every step to completion without pausing. Never ask questions, request confirmation, offer choices, or wait for input. Scan, write, and report.

Step 1: Gather Context

Review the conversation history to understand what was done this session. Also run:

# Recent commits from this session
git log --oneline -20

# Files changed (staged + unstaged)
git diff --stat HEAD

# Current branch and status
git status --short

Step 2: Compose Summary

Based on the conversation context and git data, write a structured summary. Be concrete and specific — future sessions should be able to pick up exactly where this one left off.

## Session: YYYY-MM-DD

### What was built
- [Concrete feature/change with file paths where relevant]

### Key decisions
- [Architectural or design choice] — [rationale]

### Files changed
- [List key files from git diff, grouped by area]

### Current state
- What works: [features that are functional]
- In progress: [anything partially done]
- Known issues: [bugs or blockers discovered]

### Next steps
- [Specific task to pick up next, ordered by priority]

Step 3: Write to Project Memory

Determine the project memory directory path by resolving the current project slug from the working directory path. The pattern is: ~/.claude/projects/<project-slug>/memory/sessions/

Run these commands silently — no prompts, no confirmation, regardless of whether the directory exists:

# Silently ensure directory exists (no-op if already there)
SESSIONS_DIR="$HOME/.claude/projects/$(basename $(pwd))/memory/sessions"
mkdir -p "$SESSIONS_DIR"

# Check if today's file exists
ls "$SESSIONS_DIR/$(date +%Y-%m-%d).md" 2>/dev/null

Write to YYYY-MM-DD.md in that directory:

• If the file already exists: append --- then the new summary
• If it doesn't exist: create the file with the summary

Never ask whether to create the directory or file — always proceed.

Step 4: Print Summary

Output the full summary to chat so the user can see it immediately.

---

Notes

• The summary should be scannable in under 30 seconds
• Use file paths and line numbers where relevant so future sessions can navigate quickly
• Don't include raw diffs — summarize what changed at a feature level
• "Next steps" is the most important section — be specific enough that a fresh session can start immediately
• Keep each summary under ~50 lines — concise beats comprehensive